BRANDING DEMOCRACY:
SIMON CRITCHLEY ON THE FAITH OF THE FAITHLESS—POLITICS AND BELIEF

Each year an inaugural lecture launches the Vera List Center for Art and Politics annual theme, defining the intellectual territory that the center will explore in public programs. This year’s theme is Branding Democracy. The lecturer introduces the theme in the broadest sense, serving as a guide to the range and richness of the topic at hand and rooting the concept within The New School’s intellectual tradition.

On Thursday, September 18, at 6:30 p.m., the inaugural lecture for 2008-09, “Democracy is a Fiction” will be offered by Simon Critchley, professor of philosophy, at The New School for Social Research and at University of Essex, Colchester, United Kingdom. His research focuses on the history of philosophy, literature, ethics, and politics. Critchley will discuss how democracy relies on a series of fictions, most notably the fiction of popular sovereignty as government by and for the people. He argues that such fictions serve an ultimately theological function that must be exposed and criticized. Such is one of the crucial political roles of contemporary art. Critchley will propose the idea of a supreme fiction and invoke another model of democracy closer to the anarchist tradition.

The event will take place in the Theresa Lang Community and Student Center, Arnhold Hall, 55 West 13th Street, 2nd floor. Admission is $8, and free to all students and New School faculty, staff, and alumni with ID.

A complementary art and design exhibition, “Ours: Democracy in the Age of Branding,” will run from October 15, 2008, through January 30, 2009, at the Kellen Gallery in the Sheila Johnson Design Center, 2 West 13th Street. Co-produced by Parsons The New School for Design and the Vera List Center, this show includes video, photography, sound, sculpture, and information maps, as well as lectures, performances, and participatory events that happen in a “democratic structure” designed by British artist Liam Gillick.

Top Columbia faculty and industry professionals explore the current and future role of new media in this rapidly changing environment
Topic: The Mass Media in Transition: How Digital Technology and the Search for Content are Transforming the Industry

This breakfast panel will focus on the internet’s impact on news — specifically how everything from online donations to interactive models like the CNN/YouTube debates have influenced this year’s election. TIME Magazine calls the internet’s influence on politics, “the biggest technological shift…since the rise of the television.” Join key industry talent for a spirited discussion on how the web has transformed this year’s election into a completely electric, interactive process.

New York, NY – This conference provides an open forum for exploring
media, education, and youth within an international context. It includes
screenings of youth-produced media, as well as panels on media literacy
education initiatives from the Arab and Gulf region, Asia, and Europe.

Open conversations and discussions will explore the potential of media
as socio-economic equalizer in education, the global relevance of media
literacy education, design as media, and cross-cultural perceptions of
media in formal education.

The conference includes the US premiere of “Afghan Chronicles”, a
documentary produced by InformAction on Afghanistan’s multimedia company
The Killid Group.

The conversations will accent the positive approach of providing young
people with the tools and the critical thinking skills they need in
today’s media saturated society. Selections of new youth-produced media
will be presented by: The European Observatory of Children’s Television,
Arts Engine/Media That Matters Film Festival, and The Reel Teens
Festival.

Panelists from Afghanistan, Australia, China, Egypt, Korea, Kuwait,
Spain, Sweden, UK, and the USA will lead the conversations. Attendees
will include media industry professionals, educators, students and the
general public.

All panels and screenings are free of charge and open to all audiences.
For complete schedule visit: http://www.mocnyb.org (RSVP required,rsvp@mocnyb.org).
For additional information, please contact Aneka Flamm, Conference
Coordinator, at info@mocnyb.org.

Join us for a forum on democracy, politics, and participation online as
we gear up for a politically-minded OneWebDay, http://www.onewebday.org
on September 22, 2008. This forum brings together a variety of renowned
scholars, thinkers, and activists to provide their perspectives on
political engagement on the Net. The event is organized as a part of
NYC’s Internet Week, http://www.internetweekny.com.

What will come of the next decade on the Internet? We often take for granted the state of the net today, but there’s no guarantee that it will remain this way. Will the digital future be dystopian, or is there a brighter outlook ahead than some may believe? Our panelists — thinkers and net visionaries — will provide their perspectives on the future of the net, with backgrounds ranging from art, law, technology, politics, media, culture, and entrepreneurship.We will tap in to each speaker’s knowledge to provide a unique vision of the digital future, and will engage with members of the audience to further the exploration of what lies ahead.